


The Secret Life of Little Red Riding Hood

by Snugglebuttkitten



Series: AU August [4]
Category: Little Red Riding Hood - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug, robin hood - Fandom
Genre: Adrien is Chat... obviously, Adrien is the Fairest Maiden in all the Land, Aged-Up Character(s), Alix is... Timebreaker, Chloe is... Chloe, Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Retellings, Gen, Go Easy On Me, Juleka is Tigresse, Kim is Roi Draco, Ladybug is a Vigilante, Nino is Carapace, Robin Hood AU, Rose is Madame Lapin, This Is My First Time Writing Ladrien, ladrien, this is self indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-06-27 18:16:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15690753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snugglebuttkitten/pseuds/Snugglebuttkitten
Summary: By day, Marinette Tsurugi leads the simple life as an apprentice seamstress. But by night, she dons her red hood and becomes Ladybug, Paris' resident vigilante. Her game? Take from the rich and give back to the poor. With the tyrannical King Agreste breathing down their necks and getting closer to discovering their identities with each passing day, Ladybug decides to do one last job. The biggest job of her career. She's going to rob the King himself. There's just one hitch in her plan. The handsome Prince, Adrien Agreste. Upon meeting the young man, Ladybug originally intends to use him to get into the palace and steal the King's gold... but the more time she spends with him, the more she starts to fall for his soft words and sweet smile. And then there's Chat Noir, the mysterious knight who continuously foils her plans every chance he gets. Can Ladybug sort out her hectic emotions in time to pull off the biggest heist of her life? Or will the sweet prince and the cunning trickster lead her to her ultimate downfall?





	1. Prelude; The Lady In Red

**Author's Note:**

> This is honestly just pure, unadulterated, self-indulgence. I love Robin Hood, and I love Little Red Riding Hood... and I decided to bring those two loves together for Day 31, Dealer's Choice
> 
> Note, this chapter is insanely short. The shortest piece I have actually ever written. This is because I wanted to set the story up, get a tiny bit of background in there, before kicking off the main story. The other chapters should have 2500+ words at least. Honestly, this isn't even a chapter. It's more like an extended summary, or a prelude to the actual prologue if that makes sense.

The Lady in Red was an enigma. No one knew who she was, or where she came from. They just knew that she appeared one night in Paris, wearing a cloak as red as blood pulled up over midnight hair and a matching mask of red and black. Standing atop the Eiffel Tower like an avenging angel, the Lady in Red told the people that she was here for them. That no longer would she stand by and watch as the tyrannical King Gabriel took advantage of the poor and downtrod. She was here to even the playing field, to steal from the rich and give back to the poor. It wasn’t until weeks later, long after rumors had begun circling of the Lady and her band of merry men robbing carriages and the houses of noblemen across Paris, that they learned her name. She called herself Ladybug.

The weeks slipped into months, the months into years, and no matter how hard the King and his men tried, the Lady in Red always managed to evade arrest. There was only one man who ever came close to arresting her. He called himself Chat Noir, and he was the King’s most trusted warrior. Throughout the years, Ladybug and Chat Noir had many great battles, but the Lady in Red always managed to pull out on top at the last moment. It frustrated the Knight to no end, but it also thrilled him to his very core. As the years slipped by, the pair grew from gangly teens into confident young adults. The games they played with each other continued, growing more intense as the stakes grew higher.

But the Lady in Red has grown tired of these games. At the ripe age of twenty-five, she knows that she cannot keep up this double life forever… and so it is with this thought in mind that she hatches her plan. Loathe as she is to leave the people at the hands of their evil King once more, the Lady in Red decides that the only thing she can do is to steal from the very source of the problem. King Gabriel was a greedy man, who hoarded the riches he gained from overtaxing his citizens in a big vault within his palace. If she could just gain access to that vault, she could set the people of Paris up for life before disappearing for good. She could leave Paris behind, content that the people would be well off enough to survive without her. She would finally be free of her duties as Ladybug; free to travel the world, to fall in love and settle down without fearing her imminent arrest.

But such a plan would require careful planning and a flawless execution. And so she called upon her band of merry men… or women, as it was. Rena Rogue and Queen Bee were all for the plan. They were women of action, both known for being rash and impulsive. Tigresse and Madame Lapin were a bit more cautious. Tigresse was a natural strategist. She liked to plan, to calculate the potential outcomes that might come their way. Madame Lapin tended to simply trust Tigresse's judgment and go with whatever she thought best. Timebreaker… well, she just wanted to storm the castle and let arrows fly. She was the most aggressive in the group, and if it weren’t for her respect for Ladybug, there wasn’t a soul alive who could save her from her impulsive tendencies.

Eventually, a plan was hatched and all that was left to do was execute it. Ladybug couldn’t say she was exactly pleased with the plan. It was risky and dangerous and it had the potential to compromise her true identity. But even she had to admit it was a good plan, with a good chance of going off without a hitch. So she agreed to the plan, despite her apprehension, and silently assured herself that nothing was going to go wrong. After all, how hard could it be to seduce a sheltered prince?


	2. Prologue; Not All Fairy Tales Have Happy Endings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Take a glimpse into the prosperous past to The Kingdom of France, the events that led up to its downfall, and how Ladybug came into existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out so much longer than it was meant to be lol it's literally like ten times the length of the Prelude. So this is the actual prologue. It's still giving a lot of background information, setting up the story for when we jump back to present day in the next chapter... but this will offer up a lot of very vital and important information.
> 
> Happy Reading, Lovelies xD

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lay a beautiful kingdom. It was known as the Kingdom of France, and it was one of the most prosperous and beautiful kingdoms there ever was. People would travel for many days and many nights, just to visit the Kingdom, so that they might get a glimpse of its rolling hills, jade forests, and picturesque towns. The kingdom was also renowned for its many Vineyards, and while the people visited the kingdom they couldn’t help but stop for a taste of their sweet wines and decadent cheeses. On top of their vineyards, the Kingdom of France boasted many superb restaurants and bakeries, and could you blame a weary traveler if they decided to settle in at one of the very hospitable inns for a few days so that they might partake in the fine cuisine?

Of course, as these weary travelers are already staying for a spell, it only makes sense that they enjoy the bountiful entertainment the Kingdom has to offer. Truly, there is no Kingdom on the planet who has such graceful dancers, more hilarious jesters, or more inspired festivals. And while they’re enjoying the entertainment they simply must take pause to admire the dazzling fashion the Kingdom prides itself in. Nowhere could you find such crisply tailored suits or such artfully designed dresses. Truly, the Kingdom of France is a sight to behold at least once. Of course, there is no finer city in France than it’s gorgeous Capitol, the very heart, and soul of the Kingdom. The City of Paris often referred to as the City of Light, is truly the most dazzling city not only in the Kingdom of France but perhaps in the whole world. Especially if one takes the time to ride a boat up the Seine when the moon is at its fullest and the lights of the city cast everything in an ambient glow, so they might look upon the Dupain Palace.

Sitting atop a thickly forested hill overlooking the city, the Dupain Palace was truly a sight to behold. With white stone walls, soaring towers, and elegant spires, all topped in rich violet-blue shingled roofs, it was considered the crowned jewel of the Kingdom of France. And within the elegant halls of the Dupain Palace lived the beloved King and Queen of this auspicious kingdom, Tom, and Sabine Dupain. Young Thomas Dupain was born royalty, the only child of the former King and Queen, Jerrod and Gina Dupain. He, of course, took over after his father passed, leaving his mother a widower, and ruled for several years before meeting his wife.

Now Sabine Dupain-Cheng did not come from a royal family, nor even a line of nobility. It was about the time when the young King was twenty-five, that his mother suggested he ought to begin looking for a wife. After all, a Kingdom without an heir does not have a secure future, and it wouldn’t do well to worry their subjects by putting it off any longer. King Thomas agreed with his mother and so it was that all the Princesses from neighboring Kingdoms were invited to stay at the Palace so that the King might choose his bride from amongst them. One of those princesses was Princess Jun, who hailed from the Kingdom of China. Jun was a young girl of only eighteen, the youngest of nine. She had one brother, the heir to her family’s throne, and eight sisters, each already matched to their future husbands. Only Princess Jun was unmatched, and her parents hoped to match her with King Tom in order to forge an alliance between their two nations.

Princess Jun, however, had no desire to marry the kind king, for secretly she was in love with a young Knight who worked in her family’s palace. So, hoping to dissuade the King _not_ to pick her so that when she returned to her Kingdom she could run away with her Knight, Princess Jun decided to have her personal maid, Miss Sabine Cheng, impersonate her during their stay with the King. Sabine greatly admired her Princess for following her heart and was happy to do anything in her power to help, so she allowed the Princess to dress her and fine gowns and grand jewels and went to the banquets and balls the King threw nightly, in order to find his future Queen.

Oddly enough, King Thomas became fascinated with Sabine, though he thought she was Princess Jun. She was not like the other Princesses he had met. She was polite, but she didn’t simper. She was regal, but she was not stuffy. She was not arrogant or selfish, didn’t even seem to be spoiled as some of the Princesses were. He took to watching her move throughout the palace whenever possible, wanting to see for himself if she was putting on an act or if she was genuinely as kind and compassionate as she seemed. He was touched, watching her interact with servants and their children as if they were her equals, rather than beneath her; was fascinated when he happened across her in the gardens and watched as she braved being bitten and scratched to free a fox kit that had gotten tangled in the brambles.

King Thomas was soon smitten with her, and when the time came for him to choose his bride he took her aside and asked her for her hand. Sabine was shocked, for she had honestly not been trying to capture the king's attention, though she secretly felt something for him too. In fact, she had gone out of her way to try and avoid him when possible. Panicked and fearing retribution for her dishonesty, Sabine fled the King’s presence and ran all the way back to Princess Jun’s room to beg for her mercy. After all, she had failed her Princess by somehow coercing the King to fall in love with her, a lowly housemaid. King Tom, of course, ran after the woman he had fallen for and overheard everything and he was quite shocked. At the same time, he knew deep in his heart that he still loved this woman, whatever name she might go by.

So it was that the King went to speak with his mother and explain what had happened. Lady Gina, the former Queen and Tom’s mother, was understanding. And she admitted that she was not of royal or noble blood either when his father had married her. She encouraged Tom to follow his heart and so he called an audience with Princess Jun and her housemaid, Sabine. When the two came before him, nervous that they would face his wrath for their deception, the King instead offered an alliance with the Kingdom of China, in exchange for the house maiden Sabine’s hand in marriage. The two were shocked, but Tom quickly explained how he had overheard everything they had spoken of last night and while it had come as a shock, he had fallen for Sabine’s kindness, her compassion, and her sincerity… not her name or her title.

The King and Queen of China grudgingly agreed to the terms of the alliance, which included allowing Princess Jun to marry the man of her choosing whether he was of noble heritage or not, and Tom and Sabine were married the following Spring. Despite her humble upbringing, the former house maiden quickly proved herself an excellent Queen. She was fair, diplomatic, and had a soothing presence to all who met her. With King Tom and Queen Sabine leading the Kingdom of France, the kingdom only grew more prosperous than it ever had been before. It was a few years later, that the King and Queen welcomed a child into the world. A little girl; a Princess, whom they named Marinette.

  


The Princess was a stunning child, with hair as black as night, skin as fair as porcelain, and eyes the exact same shade of blue as the bluebells that sprouted along the outer walls of the Dupain Palace. The kingdom rejoiced at the birth of their Princess, and when the child was a few months old the King and Queen opened the palace gates for one day, so that all who wanted to, be they of noble blood or not, might come and look upon the child and celebrate the birth of their future Queen. Many traveled from far and wide, just to lay eyes upon the child and all who did so agreed that yes, she was the most stunningly beautiful child to ever be born. As word of the child’s looks had spread to even the farthest reaches of the kingdom, where the Enchanted Forest lay on the Easternmost border, it was no surprise that even those who were not quite human were curious to lay eyes upon the Dupain Princess.

So it was on that fateful day that into the palace waltzed Tikki and Plagg of the Fae Kingdom, which was hidden deep in the Enchanted Forest, deeper than any human had ever dared venture before. Tikki, a Ladybug sprite known to bestow wonderful gifts upon those who pleased her, fluttered up to the raised dais as the King and Queen and all their subjects looked on in awe of her beauty and grace. She hovered over the gilded bassinet and looked down upon the Princess, and even she could not help but smile at the child’s beauty. Greatly pleased by what she saw, Tikki decided to bestow upon her three gifts, a generous offer indeed. First, she blessed the new Princess with the Gift of Kindness and vowed that never would there be a ruler kinder or more compassionate than she. Second, she blessed the child with the Gift of Fortune, so that those who looked upon the child might experience a stroke of good luck, and the child herself would be as lucky as a Ladybug her whole life through.

The final gift, she thought long and hard about, before finally blessing the Princess with the Gift of Integrity. She vowed that the Princess would grow up to an honest young woman, who ruled her kingdom fairly and who would protect her people from those who sought to destroy it, no matter what the cost. The Princess would be brave and fearless; putting her people before herself always. When she was done, the sprite drew closer to the child until she pressed a kiss to her forehead. As she pulled away, a pair of ruby earrings with onyx spots appeared in the child’s ears, infusing the child with the gifts of Kindness, Fortune, and Integrity. When she was done, she stepped back and allowed Plagg to take her place. Now Plagg was not a typically kind creature. He was a black cat sprite, after all, and unlike the kind Ladybug Sprite, he was a known trickster. Often, though the few gifts he bestowed were usually well-placed, they came with terrible side effects.

That being said, to refuse a gift from the Fae would be an insult against their court and would only bring terrible misfortune upon the Kingdom, and so the King and Queen could only bite their tongues and watch in apprehension as the inky, shadowy creature prowled around the edge of the bassinet, his paws never fully touching the golden edge but rather hovering just above it so he was walking on air. His acid green eyes were trained intently upon the child and after much debate, the creature finally sat at the edge of the of the bassinet (again hovering just above the edge) so that he could look into the child’s eyes with his own. To the Princess, the black cat bestowed the Gift of Protection. For as long as the Princess might live, the warriors blessed by the Black Cat would be _her_ warriors. _Her_ protectors. They would fight for her until their last breath, and she would never have to worry about her safety when they were near.

However, there would be one very special Black Cat whose powers surpassed all others, who would not follow the Princess. Rather, he would eventually seek her out and wage war against her, and eventually, he would destroy her. Only if she could win this black knight’s heart and make him swear his fealty to her and her alone, could she then break him from his corruption and escape her untimely demise. The King and Queen were horrified that such a condition was set and they ordered the creature to take it back. But Plagg refused, decreeing that the deed was done and her destiny was set in motion. The King and Queen ended the party early after that, and together they mourned the future laid out before their infant daughter by the wicked black cat. For surely, not even the good fortune bestowed upon her by Tikki could combat the curse of the black cat.

Eventually, the King and Queen sent out a Kingdom-wide decree, ordering anyone blessed by the black cat to come forward before the infant Princess, and swear their fealty to her and her alone. If anyone tried to attack her, they would dispose of the disloyal warrior before he could harm the Princess. One by one, men and boys of all ages came from all corners of the kingdoms. And one by one, they each bowed before the Princess and vowed to protect her with their lives. Days and weeks bled into months and then years, but the King and Queen never did find the Warrior that Plagg had warned about and eventually they decided that perhaps it was all just a cruel joke. The Princess grew into a lovely little girl, her beauty unmatched by any other. But despite her beauty, she was not a vain child. The Ladybug’s blessings proved true, for even in her youth the young Princess was kind, compassionate, and fair.

  


So blessed were they to have such a wonderful daughter for an heir, the King and Queen decided they must make her a very special gift for her fifth birthday and so they sent riders out to journey throughout the kingdom with orders to bring back the best Seamstress in all of France. Eventually, a young woman by the name of Gisele was brought before the King and Queen and they asked her to design a riding cloak for the young Princess, as soft as a horse’s muzzle and as crimson as a rose, for red was the child’s favorite color and it went so well with her inky black hair. The Seamstress did as she was asked and constructed a beautiful cloak, as bright as a crimson rose and as soft as the most velvety horse’s muzzle. When the day of the Princess’ birthday arrived, she opened a mountain of gifts, but none made her eyes shine so brightly as the red riding cloak her parents’ had gifted her with.

After that, the young Princess wore the cloak wherever she went, whether she was riding through town with the royal caravan, attending Festivals with her parents, or walking through the woods to the little cottage that her Grandma Gina had moved into after the king and queen had wed. She wore the cloak so often, in fact, that people began to affectionately refer to the Princess as Little Red Riding Hood, or ‘Little Red’ for short. Princess Marinette quite liked the nicknames bestowed upon her by her doting subjects, and so she began to go by Little Red or Little Red Riding Hood almost exclusively. As the Princess grew older still, the Seamstress was often called upon to repair or replace the red riding cloak, for it was the Princess’ absolute favorite. It was on one such day, when the seamstress had just finished replacing her old cloak with a brand new one, that the now eight-year-old Princess asked her parents if she could go and visit her Grandma, for she had not gotten to see her in quite some time. Queen Sabine eventually agreed, but she warned her daughter that she was to go straight to her Grandma Gina’s cottage. She wasn’t to dawdle or talk to strangers, and she was not to stray from the main path, for the woods would be very dangerous.

Little Red agreed and her mother packed her a basket of goodies to take to her Grandma’s, and off the child went skipping down the sun-dappled forest path. Eventually, she came across a bunch of wildflowers that she thought would look mighty pretty in a vase on her Grandmother’s table. So, forgetting her mother’s warning, Little Red stepped off the forest and began to pick flowers. When she was done picking flowers, she put the bundle into her basket with the other goodies and was about to turn back when the sound of a stream babbling nearby caught her attention. Little Red thought that it would not be so bad, to just stray a little further, for it was a hot day and she was now dirty and thirsty from picking flowers. So the child followed the sound of the water further away from the forest path until she came to a beautiful clearing with a lovely little stream running through it.

Little Red immediately set her basket down and went to the water to wash her hands, before bringing her cupped hands to her mouth and drinking the cool, clear water. Looking up, she admired the way the sun hit the trees just right to make then leaves glow a transparent green, and how the birdsong that filled the summer air reminded her of a gentle lullaby. The Princess yawned, suddenly very tired, and decided she would just shut her eyes for a moment before she continued on her journey. She must have dozed off, however, because the next thing she knew she was being nudged sharply in the side by a booted foot.

The child woke immediately and found the sun significantly lower in the sky. She just knew her family was probably going frantic looking for her and she scrambled to her feet, only to come face to face with a boy. The one who had been kicking her, apparently. That is, Little Red thought he was a boy. He certainly looked like a boy, not much older than her, with fair skin and unruly blonde hair. He was wearing peasants clothing, but his clothes were neat and clean and totally unruffled compared to hers, which were stained with dirt from her flower picking and ruffled from her nap on the soft grass-covered ground. The human features ended there, though, for sitting atop the boy’s head among the ruffled blonde locks, were two very furry black cat ears. And extending from his tailbone, swinging back and forth lazily, was a furry black tail. And his eyes… his eyes were unlike anything she had ever seen. Bright green sclera, with slightly darker green irises, and slitted black pupils. Like a cat’s eyes. And around those eyes, shaped almost like a mask, was a patch of sleek black fur.

“Why are you sleeping in the woods?” The boy asked, and when he spoke she could see four sharp canines in his mouth, two up top and two on the bottom. Little Red finally recalled what her mother had said and she gave the boy a wary look.

“I’m not allowed to talk to strangers,” the girl said, taking a step back. The boy cocked his head to the side but made no move to follow her.

“Is that what I am?” He asked. The girl gave him a peculiar look, because what an odd question he asked. They didn’t know each other, and therefore they were strangers. It was as simple as that.

“I do not know your name, demon. Therefore we are strangers,” she responded.

“My name is Chat,” he said, a slight frown on his face, “and I am no demon.”

“You certainly look like a demon, Chat. If not a demon, what are you then?” The girl asked for she was genuinely curious. She had never seen a child like this boy. He grinned, almost seeming to preen before her, and puffed his chest out proudly before he responded.

“I am the Chosen One of Plagg,” he responded.

“You are one of the Black Cats?” The girl asked, having heard the story long ago of how she was Blessed by Tikki, the embodiment of Good Fortune, only to be Cursed by Plagg, the Black Cat Sprite.

“Not just one of them. I’m the _Chosen_ One, Blessed by Plagg with the Ring of Destruction. I’m his _favorite_ kitten,” the boy scoffed and the ears atop his head twitched as if in agreement.

“Then you must swear your fealty to me, Demon. Or I will be forced to have you punished,” the girl said imperiously, jerking her chin up and glaring at the boy. He flashed her a lopsided grin.

“Why would I do that, Princess?” He asked, dropping into a cat-like crouch as his tail twitched and shifted.

“You know who I am?”

“Aye. You are Princess Marinette, Blessed by Tikki with the gifts of Kindness, Fortune, and Integrity,” the boy confirmed, again tilting his head as he looked up at her.

“How did you know that?”

“Because I am Plagg’s Chosen, and Plagg is bonded to Tikki for all eternity. I can sense her magick on you, and in those pretty earrings, you wear” the boy bounded closer on all fours and startled, the girl fell back on her rump. She held her breath as she came face to face with the strange cat boy. He stared at her for a long moment with his strange eyes, then slowly lifted a hand to her chin. Princess Marinette froze under his touch, shocked to feel what felt like claws against her skin, but the boy did not scratch her. He merely turned his head to look at the earrings closer. His thumb brushed over one of them, before jerking back with a yelp and shaking his hand in pain.

“What happened?” The girl asked as the boy popped his thumb into his mouth to soothe the pain away.

“Your earrings are charmed to burn other mythical beings; to protect them from being stolen,” he explained around his thumb with a grimace. Eventually, he removed his thumb to inspect the angry red mark. It wasn’t too serious; it would fade in a day or two at most. Marinette found herself wanting to ask him more, like how he knew all about the Fae and their jewels, but before she could he lifted his gaze to stare at something in the forest behind her. His gaze hardened, lips curling before he stood abruptly on two legs and held out a hand. “Come, Princess.”

“Where are we going?” She asked, reaching out hesitantly to take his hand. The boy lifted her effortlessly to her feet before releasing her and turning away.

“I am taking you home. It is late, and your family is worried,” he responded, not waiting for her as he set off swiftly back the way she had come. Marinette found herself having to scramble to catch up with him.

“So, will you do it?” She finally asked, catching up to him and falling into step beside him as they walked through thick undergrowth and towering trees. The boy glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

“Will I do what, Princess?”

“Will you swear fealty to me, demon? So that I know I can trust you,” she asked impatiently. One side of the boy’s mouth curved up into a smirk.

“Am I not proving my trustworthiness now, by bringing you home?” He asked. Marinette opened her mouth to argue, but he kind of had a point. Not that she would let him know that.

“I suppose, but you could just be trying to get me to let my guard down,” she pointed out after a moment. The boy moved in front of her abruptly, blocking her path and forcing her to stop in her tracks less she collided with him. The trees cast shifting shadows over his face in the dying sunlight and darkened his intense green cat-like gaze and she found herself swallowing nervously. Then he smiled boyishly.

“If I wanted you dead, Princess, you would be dead. If nothing else, trust in that,” he said, taking her hand in his and leaning down to press a kiss to her knuckles. And then he was gone, disappearing back into the trees as quickly and silently as the black cat whose blessing he donned quite proudly. Moments later, shouting filled the forest as a passing guard happened to spot her and sent up an alert that the Princess had been found safe and sound. As she was bundled up onto the guard’s horse and carted back to the palace, she couldn’t help but brush her thumb over her knuckles as she thought about the strange boy she had met in the woods… and she found herself hoping she might meet him again sometime in the near future.

  


She did see the boy again, only a few days after their first meeting. Marinette had always loved flowers since she could remember, and she often spent her free time playing in the Palace Gardens when the weather permitted. On this day, the sun was high in the sky and she found herself sitting on a small knoll beneath a massive Cherry blossom tree, weaving flower crowns which she thought were much prettier than her actual tiaras. She didn’t notice she wasn’t alone until the boy spoke from above her head.

“Hello again, Princess,” Chat greeted, smiling in amusement as the girl jolted in surprise. Marinette looked up and found the strange boy high above her head and stretched out on a long, thick branch on his stomach. His tail hung off the branch, the tip twitching lazily as he watched her.

“Demon. How did you get up there?” She asked, setting aside her flower crowns and rising to her feet.

“I climbed, of course. I am a cat, after all,” the boy pointed out.

“You look like a boy to me,” she responded.

“I am both. The cat and the boy. Neither one nor the other,” he responded. Marinette frowned, knowing he was trying to confuse her with his words.

“Why have you come here, Demon? Have you come to finally swear your fealty to your Princess? If so, come down and do so and you can be my trusty Knight,” she said, but the boy merely stretched and folded his arms over the branch, settling his chin upon them and closing his eyes.

“I have come to do no such thing, Princess. But perchance I might be persuaded if you were to come up here instead,” he offered, cracking one eye open to glance down at her.

“Princesses do not climb trees. I would scrape my knees and rip my dress,” the girl protested, shocked that the boy would make such a suggestion at all. “Come down here, Demon. Swear your fealty to me so that we might be done with this nonsense.”

“Pity. It’s so lovely up here, you really don’t know what you’re missing. Tell me, Princess. Are you afraid to climb up the tree?” The boy asked, ignoring her demands once more.

“I am not afraid of anything,” the Princess declared huffily, and she stomped her little foot for good measure. This only seemed to further amuse the boy.

“Come then. Climb up this tree and if you can make it to me without falling, I will swear my fealty to you, Princess. And I will be you trusted Knight for as long as I shall live,” the boy offered. Marinette stared up at him suspiciously, but she was a little tempted at the offer.

“Do you swear upon it? If I reach you, you will swear your fealty to me and no other?” She asked cautiously. The boy opened both eyes and gave her a somber look.

“I swear it on all my nine lives, Princess,” he assured.

So the Princess began to climb the tree. It was really quite awkward, with her cumbersome skirts continuously getting in the way. Plus, the Princess was quite small for her age and some of the branches were hard to reach. But she persevered and kept climbing. She had almost reached the boy’s spots and was beginning to get a bit full of herself, as she hadn’t slipped thus far. The boy had both eyes open now, trained on her in surprise, and she flashed him a smug smirk because she felt certain that in mere moments he would be searing his fealty to her and her alone. Grabbing onto the branch that was three branches below him, she pulled herself up when a loud _craaaack_ sounded before the branch she was standing on dropped out from under her. The Princess opened her mouth to scream as she fell when something caught hold of her wrist and brought her to an abrupt halt.

Marinette stared wide-eyed at the ground, so far below her feet, before looking up at Chat. How he had moved to fast, she could not fathom, but he was now clinging to her wrist on the branch above her, his eyes blown wide with panic. The boy, showing a surprising amount of strength, hauled her onto the branch beside her and with a sob, the Princess threw her arms around his neck. He froze briefly, unused to being touched or held in this way, before awkwardly patting her on the back in an attempt to soothe her. She did calm down, after a bit, and the boy immediately picked her up and leaped gracefully through the branches to deposit her on the ground. The girl was quiet for a long time, while the boy tried to evoke some kind of positive reaction out of her by cracking jokes, telling her made up stories, and attempting to make flower crowns like the ones she had expertly woven. By the time he left that evening, she was back to her normal, bubbly space and the boy was relieved her near miss wouldn’t have any lasting damage to her psyche.

  


That wasn’t the first time the boy visited the Princess. There was no rhyme, no rhythm to when he might show up. Like the cat that he was, he came as he pleased. No matter where the Princess was at any given time, the boy always had an uncanny ability to find her. Once, while she was attending a Festival in the city with her parents, she had wandered off only to be grabbed and yanked into an alley by the odd boy. He wore a cloak, pulled up over his fine golden hair, to hide his oddities and together they explored the festival and played until it was time for her to return home with her parents. Another time, Marinette was in the Palace Library listening to her tutor drone on and on about the history of their Kingdom when Chat had poked his head out from behind a tall bookshelf and began making faces behind the woman’s face. The woman was both confused and angered by the Princess’ random fits of giggles and her lack of attention to the subject, but whenever she turned to see what had her giggling so fiercely there was nothing but rows and rows of dusty books and towering shelves. She eventually threw her hands up and stormed out, leaving Marinette and the boy to play the rest of the afternoon in peace.

Sometimes, Marinette would sneak away from the Palace and go back into the forest to meet the boy back in the clearing in the woods, where the stream chattered and the birds sang and she could forget the fact that she was a Princess for a little while and just be a kid. Oh, the fun those two had, exploring the twisting paths of the forest, picking flowers and climbing trees and splashing in the cool stream water. Other times, when the moon was high, the boy would appear on her balcony and they would sit and stare up at the sky and talk for hours upon hours about everything and nothing at all. These were some of Marinette’s favorite times. She still asked the boy every time she saw him to swear his fealty to her and her alone, and every time the boy would brush her off and distract her with some challenge or another. But she found she didn’t care as much anymore, for she had come to trust the strange cat boy and knew he would never hurt her.

One day, a few months after they became friends, the boy came to her in the night and shook her awake with tears in his eyes. The girl woke instantly and the two sat on her bed and clung to each other as he explained that he had to go away and he wouldn’t be coming back. He refused to tell her why, only that it had something to do with his father. When she couldn’t any straight answers from him, Marinette eventually settled on simply holding the boy, her kitty. They held each other all night long, tears long dried, until the night sky lightened and turned a pastel pink and the sounds of the guards beginning their early morning patrol of the Palace Grounds could be heard. The pair hugged once more, and the boy pressed a brief kiss to her cheek, and then he was gone.

The next day, an army invaded the Kingdom of France and stormed the castle. A fierce battle was waged, but in the end, the army was simply too powerful and the King was forced to have his men stand down. The leader of the army approached and introduced himself as Lord Gabriel Agreste. He ordered the King to relinquish the crown to him, but King Tom refused. He would not hand his Kingdom over to a madman. Lord Agreste, not one to take no for an answer, ordered the death of the royal family so that he might ascend the throne and take over the Kingdom. His men complied, and the King and Queen were slain. But when his men went to fetch the Princess, they found her quarters vacant. The King was furious, knowing that if the Princess was permitted to live she might one day assemble her own armies and return to reclaim her throne.

The new King ordered his men to search every inch of the Kingdom, to lock down the borders and ensure the girl didn’t escape. But no matter how hard they searched, they never did find the young Princess. You see, the King and Queen loved nothing more than their daughter. Being the rulers of such an illustrious and sought after kingdom, it only made sense that they might one day find themselves at the mercy of a tyrant, such as the Lord Gabriel Agreste, in a quest to steal the throne. So, when word of the army invading the borders first reached the castle, their first priority was to ensure Marinette was far away on the chance the Kingdom was overthrown. The child was placed in a carriage, and as the King and Queen took their final breaths, the Princess was already boarding a boat that would take her to China.

There, a royal guard would be waiting to escort the Princess to the Tsurugi Palace, where Queen Jun Tsurugi and her husband, King Jiao lived with their twin daughters Kagami and Bridgette. Queen Jun has ascended the throne after her brother tragically died in an accident, being the only child in the family not wed to a King from another Kingdom. Marinette was delivered before China’s new King and Queen, and when news of her parents’ death reached them she was raised as their daughter. The three girls were all close in age, Bridgette and Kagami merely three months older than Marinette, and they all looked very similar thanks to Marinette’s half Chinese heritage. It was only too easy to claim they were triplets to anyone outside the Kingdom who asked, and their faithful subjects would never dream of arguing with their rulers.

Marinette was raised as a Tsurugi and remained with the family until her thirteenth birthday. It was only then, after a tearful goodbye, that she returned to Paris so that she might gather a following and try to reclaim her throne. Upon returning to her Kingdom, however, Marinette found the once beautiful Kingdom was suffering at the hands of its tyrant king. The people were miserable, starving and broke because of the ever-rising taxes King Gabriel forced upon them, and she knew she had to do something and fast to help these people. So the Princess sought out Master Fu, an old friend of her parents’ and the Tsurugi Family. Master Fu was a sweet old man, but he came from a long line of warriors and agreed to train the young Princess in the ways of war and thievery. When he deemed her ready, Marinette sought out the seamstress Gisele, so that she could make her one last cloak, this one as red as the blood of her enemies that she vowed to spill in retribution for the deaths of her parents and the harsh treatment of her people.

As a final touch, she had the Seamstress Giselle make her a mask designed after the Fae who had Blessed her all those years ago with Kindness, Fortune, and Integrity so that she might be the greatest ruler the Kingdom had ever known. And thus, Ladybug was born, stealing from the rich and giving back to the poor. And as her fame began to spread, and word got out of what she was trying to do, others soon came to join the Lady in Red, so that they, too, might make a difference for their people and put their rightful Queen back upon her throne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Lemme know what you think!


End file.
